by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
A shirt made out of tanned deer hides sold for $400 Saturday evening at a silent auction organized by the Kiva Club.
Autumn Chacon, spokeswoman for the student group, said the person who got the shirt was getting a good deal.
"Anywhere else, that would go for thousands of dollars," she said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The retail price listed for the shirt was $2,000.
Kamilla Venner, who won the bidding for the shirt minutes before the auction closed, said she liked the piece even though it was not in the traditional style of her tribe.
"I got the steal of the century," she said. "It's not really from my people, but it's just so beautiful. It's wonderful."
The auction, which began Friday, was meant to raise money for non-federally recognized American-Indian tribes affected by the hurricanes this year, Chacon said. Tribes such as the Choctaw and the Houma do not get the same benefits or aid from the government as federally recognized tribes like the Navajo and the Apache, she said.
"What that means is the federal government doesn't deal with them on a nation-to-nation basis," she said. "They get little enough as it is. We want to do whatever we can to help."
All of the art for the auction was donated, and about half of it came from students, she said.
Chacon appreciated the artists' donations, she said.
"They were so generous with what they had," she said. "We did an advertisement on KUNM, and within minutes we had people calling us asking us what they could do."
Local artist Phil Geib made several arrowheads for the auction.
"It's a good cause," he said. "If not, I wouldn't have donated."
There were about 30 items in the auction.
Chacon said the most impressive item up for bid was the shirt. However, a traditional backrest made out of willow sticks was also interesting, she said.
"That's really cool because about seven different students contributed to it," she said. "So we've had a lot of professors show interest in it."
The auction also included several pieces of silver jewelry, oil paintings, photographs and a beaded pair of Reebok shoes that sold for $50.
Venner said the auction was a good idea.
"I'm just so glad to be able to make a donation to such a great cause," she said. "And at the same time I get to walk away with such a beautiful piece of art."
About 100 people came through the auction, Chacon said.
A Native Beats concert helped draw a crowd to the auction Friday night, she said.
Chacon said she was happy with the $1,250 the event raised.
"We've had bake sales to raise money for our club, and we're happy when we get $80," she said. "This is a lot more money, and to use it to help somebody else is just really cool."
The club will give the money raised at the auction to Isleta Casino to distribute, because the casino is raising money for a similar cause, she said.
The club might organize a similar fundraiser in the spring, she said.
